Oils for facial care.

Aug 17, 2016

K R.

Grape seed
Apricot
Avocado
Almond

What are the different benefits of using each?

Aug 18, 2016

Leuca S.

The four you mentioned all have benefits for helping the skin retain moisture.

Their main differences will be in nutritional benefit and how their unique textures interact with the skin. For example, avocado oil is more readily absorbed by the skin, despite being thicker than grapeseed oil, which is arguably better for creating a film that helps to seal in existing moisture. Avocado oil also contains good amounts of vitamin E, which is a great antioxidant for the skin. Grapeseed oil has significant amounts of omega fatty acids which are fantastic for maintaining the moisture barrier of your skin. Almond oil is great in fatty acid content as well. Apricot oil isn't bad, but it's not particularly impressive either in my opinion. It contains some antioxidant benefit in addition to its moisturizing properties.

As for the chart above, some of it is accurate (though I'm not sure if that's coincidence), some of it is probably rumor, and some of it is downright false.

For one, oils applied to the skin are not going to affect your own oil production unless your skin is severely dehydrated and is overproducing sebum to compensate. Sebum production is regulated by hormones. If your skin is well taken care of without adding oils, they aren't going to solve sebum issues.

Tea tree oil is actually quite effective at killing P. Acnes bacteria, but absolutely must be diluted to concentrations generally falling below 10%, or its volatile compounds can seriously irritate the skin.

Neem oil actually has some toxicity in humans, and has a lot of research supporting its use as insecticide against lice. It doesn't have any research demonstrating significant benefit for skin, so I'd skip it.

Don't bother putting peppermint or lavender oils on your skin; they're both proven irritants, which is counterproductive to reducing oil production and inflammation.

Jojoba and Marula are generally fine. They don't contain volatile compounds and have good moisture binding properties.

Eucalpytus is basically tea trea oil if it was 10x harsher and poisonous when ingested. Don't bother putting it on your skin. It's used in skincare as a fragrance ingredient.

Chamomile extract/oil has significant research demonstrating its use as an anti-inflammatory agent, but do be aware that if you have a ragweed/daisy allergy, it may trigger that.

Olive oil is a safe, if boring option. It's been around forever, but probably won't wow you.

Hope that helps!

Aug 19, 2016

Mariana E.

Wow! Leuca! Thanks for the info!